Sprinkler head



Aug. 30, 1938. H. K. RAD'ER ET AL 2,128,552

SPRINKLER HEAD Filed oct. 7; 1936 i yl Patented Aug.3o,193s

UNITED STAT 2,123,552 srnmlmia am Harold K. Rader and Mich., `assignora to John E. any, ron Intron,l

Mueller Brass Co., Port Huron, Mich., a lcorporation 'of Michigan Application October 7,

1 Claim.

'I'his invention relates to sprinkler heads, and, with regard to certain more specific features, to disappearing lawn sprinkler heads.

Among the several objects of the invention may 6 be noted the provision of an improved sprinkler head ofthe class described which is completely and readily adaptable for the projection of a spray of any desired shape or angle of arc, with a minimum of complications for the selection;

l the provision of a sprinkler head of the class described which is adapted to provide sprays of any desired shape or angle of arc merely by the interchange of a single simple element in a basic structure, said head being thereby adapted, withv ll out major change in parts, to meet any of the requirements for various types of sprays as encountered in practice; and the provision of a sprinkler head of the class described which is relatively simple and economical to construct. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which 26 will be 'exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claim.

In the accompanying drawing, in which are illustrated several of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device in retracted position; I

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device of Fig. 1, but in an extended position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. l; V4Fig. 4 is a vertical, axial section of the device in its Fig. 1 position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical, axial section of the device in its Fig. 2 position;

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken substantially along line 6.-6 of Fig. 5;

Figures 7, 9, l1 and 13 are side elevations of various forms of sleeve elements; and,

Figures 8, 10, 12 and 14V are top plan views of' the sleeve elements of AFigures 7, 9, 11 and 13, re-

spectively.

Similar reference characters indicate corre-- sponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing. I

The present invention is in the natureof an improvement on the sprinkler head` shown in Irving et al. Patent 1,726,490, Rader Patent 1,821,- 579, and Lindquist et al. Patent 1,962,824. Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated at numeral l an Outside body p0r- 1936, serial No. 1043er (Cl. 299-61) V y tion threaded at the bottom to be attached to a stand pipe such as i which pipe connects with a sprinkling system or the-like. The body i is provided with iiats 5 to which a wrench may be Y applied for attaching purposes.

Interiorly the body I is provided with vertical grooves 1 for slidably accommodating a .pair of ears 8 on a slidable outlet nozzle il. The outlet or water ejecting nozzle Ii slidably cooperates at its upper end with a collar i3 threaded to the body l so that itis adapted to be moved telescopingly within the body I. The slidable outlet li has inlet portions l5 at the lower end thereof for receiving water from the pipe 3. Astem 2l' passes upwardly through the hollow center of the nozzle il and is formed at its top as a head or spreader 23. The stem 2i is threaded into the bottom of the slider il. The head 23 is formed as an inverted cone 2E.

The collar i8 is provided with an upper, interior seat 21, cooperating with the conical portion 25 on the head 23. In its lower portion the collar I3 has an inner conical seat 29, which is adapted to engage the reverse-conical surface 3i of an annular shoulder 38 on the nozzle it. It will be noted that the heretofore mentioned ears 9 extend from this shoulder 33.

A central bore 35 of the collar i3 receives the nozzle il with sumcient clearance only to permit extending and retracting of said nozzle as described hereinafter, thus serving to hold said nozzle il in vertical position. A number of grooves 3l (six in the present embodiment, see Fig. 6) are broachedor otherwise formed in the inner surface of bore 35. These grooves function as follows:

When the nozzle is in its extended, Fig. l, position, and spraying water, there is manifestly a tendency for some water to wash back from the surrounding soil, carrying with it sand, dirt particles, and the like. With old forms of sprinklers, such sand and dirt particles wedged into the mechanism and frequently, when the water was turned off, caused the sprinkler to remain in exboth lawn mowers and sprinklers. However, the grooves 3l, in combination with the other `features of the invention, effectively reduce or completely eliminate this tendency of the sprinklers to remain in extended position. This is because (1)` the area of contact between the nozzle and collar is greatly reduced, (2) channels are provided into which the drainage water, with its content, quickly flows, and (3) channels are provided for a non-v tended position. This led to 'frequent breakage of 45 harmful leakage or seepage of water from the 5 body l, thus establishing a countercurrent to the incoming drainage water and thereby eectively stopping the influx of sand, dirt, etc.

The nozzle or projectible member li comprises a tube having a closed end 39 threaded to receive the stem 2l. Above the end 39, but below the annular ange 33, are the water inlets I5.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of a sleeve element 6l between the nozzle element Il and the stem '2L As will hereinafter be pointed out, the shapes of the various sleeve elements M that can be used are many, depending upon theltype of spray wanted. In all cases, however, the sleeve element 4l has a relatively long portion 53, which is in the form of an angular section of a cylinder adapted to flt relatively tightly between the stem 2i and inner wall of nozzle H. 'The upper end of the portion d3 is flared outwardly, as indicated -at numeral d5, providing a shoulder which seats on the upper edge of the nozzle lI I. Interiorly, the ange e5 is countersunk. or otherwise formed closely to embrace the conical surface 25 of the head 23. When the stem 2i is drawn down tightly in the nozzle H, it will be seen that the sleeve element t! is tightly clamped into position between the nozzle H and the head 23.

The length of the sleeve di, particularly the portion d3, is a principal feature of the present invention. In the embodiment shown, this length is approximately twice the maximum diameter of the portion t3. The considerable length of the element el, we have found, isk one of the principal reasons that we are able, in the present invention, to achieve the desired 'control of the iiow of water. It is likewise necessary that the sleeve element di t relatively tightly between the stem 2i and the nozzle Il, in order to prevent leakage of water where it is not wanted.

The spray obtained from the sprinkler of the present invention will extend through an angle of arc determined by the amount of the basic cylinder of element Qi that has been cut away. For example, if the projection of a spray only through an angle of approximately of arc is required, the sleeve element l shown in Figures '7 and 8 may advantageously be employed. In this instance, it will be seen, the cylindrical section is 270 of arc, leaving a longitudinal notch or opening dl that extends through 90 of arc. The flange t5 is of the same angle of arc, namely 270, as the portion 43.

The sleeve element l of Figures 7 and 8 is shown in position in the sprinkler head assembly of Figures i and 5. The portions Q3 of the sleeve tl, it will be seen, completely fills the annular space between the nozzle Il and the stem 2l, except for the region of the notch tl. This means that when water under pressure is admitted to the pipe 3, the nozzle, which will be raised to the Fig. 5 position by the pressure of the water, will pass water upwardly only in the region of the notch l, and will discharge a spray of water only in the region of the notch li that would have been occupied by an extension of the flange 65, had it been present. This means that a spray of water over substantially 90 of arc will be directed out from the upper edge of the nozzle l, between said upper edge and the under conical surface 25 of the head 23.

The long sleeve il heretofore mentioned apparently has a distinct guiding effect upon the Water being sprayed. For example, if the sleeve ti be made relatively short, it is found that the water passing through the notch does not aiaasse have suillcient time to have its flow direction accurately aligned in the notch 6l; hence, when it is sprayed out from under the head 23, its direction of spray is not necessarily limited to the angular extent of the notch B1. However, with a long sleeve M. the direction of flow of the water is suiliciently corrected by the time it reaches the head 23, so that the spray is accurately maintained within the angular distance desired. I

Figures 9 and 10 show an alternative sleeve element El. drical section ,of the sleeve 4l is substantially of arc, and the notch ill-is of like size. This means that the spray will be projected out from the head through 180 of arc.

Figures 1l and l2 show still another embodiment of the sleeve member 4l, wherein the sleeve itself extends only through 90 of arc, providing for a spray extending through 270 of arc. While the cylindrical portion d3 of the sleeve 4l is now relatively much smaller than the notch itself, the shape and size of said sleeve still permit it accurately to be positioned in the nozzle Il, to be clamped by the head 23, and the accurate directional eect on the water is thus still produced.

Figures 13 and 14 show an embodiment of the invention wherein the sleeve 6l is essentially a complete cylinder, with a pair of milled notches 49 disposed at diametrically opposite points on its periphery. The notches 69 extend into the iiange d5. With this embodiment in position in the sprinkler head assembly, water is projected in two diametrically opposite directions from the spray head, this being what is known in the trade as a line" spray.

It will be apparent that other sleeve members lli of other shapes (in respect of their degrees of arc) or, of other numbers and positions of notches @1S analogousto the two notches 49 of the Fig. 13 embodiment, may be provided with the scope of the invention.

A particular feature of the invention is the manner in which the base assembly, comprising all of the parts described except the sleeve 4i, may be adapted, with the use of a set of different sleeves tl as illustrated, for the spraying of substantially any type of lawn or the like. In prior sprinklers, a complete redesign of the spray head as a wholehas been necessary in orderto make it adapted for various shapes and types of sprays. In the case of the present invention, the cost of the sleeve elements 6l is so little that each sprinkler head can be supplied with a complete set, of the type shown, at relatively little cost, or a smaller total stock of heads and sleeve elements may be maintained. The user then needs only to select the sleeve corresponding to the particular spray that he desires, and then all he needs to do is to remove the stern 2l from the assembly,

place the selected sleeve 4I in position, and replace the stem 2l in position, screwing it down tightly into the nozzle i in order rmly to clamp the sleeve element di in position. In order t'o facilitate this withdrawal and replacement of the stem 2l, a screw-driver slot 5l is preferably provided in the top of head 23.

Once the head of the present invention is adjusted in position on the pipe 3, it will always deliver the spray at the desired location, because, by reason of the engagement of the ears 9 in the channel "l, no turning of the nozzle H relative to the body l is permitted.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the In this particular case, the cylinv several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be-made in carrying out the above constructions without departing fromthe scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

In a sprinkler head, the provision of a cylindri- `cal nome, a st em mounted centrally in said nozzie, said stem having a vconicalhead positioned over the edge of said nozzle, and a water-directing sleeve positioned between said stem and said nozzle, said sleeve having a flange clamped between the upper edge of said nozzle and the under surface of said conical head, said sleeve having a portion that is a section ofa complete cylinder, said portion being positioned between said stem and the inner wall of said nozzle and 4filling radially such space therebetween as it occupies by reason of its incomplete cylindrical shape, said portion being of the order of twice as long as its 10 maximum diameter.

HAROLD K. BADER. JQHN E. GRAY. 

